SIR WALTER FOSTER () Derbyshire, IlkestonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to a scheme for making a light railway between Burton-on-Trent and: Ashby-de-la-Zouch by the Midland Railway Company, which has been approved by the Light Railway Commission; and whether, seeing that a similar light railway scheme was rejected last year after opposition by the Midland Railway Company, he can see his way to alter the terms so as to give the Derbyshire County Council, or the Urban District Councils through whose districts the line passes, the right to acquire the undertaking at the end of thirty-five years at cost price, as in the only 1329 similar line sanctioned in the county of Derby, instead of on the terms proposed, viz., the full value as a going concern, with the obligation to lease the line to the Midland Railway Company, seeing that the line is made for a considerable portion of its length on land belonging to the County Council.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) The Order referred to by the hon. Member has not yet been made by the Light Railway Commissioners and submitted to the Board of Trade for confirmation as provided by the Light Railways Act. when it is submitted due notice will be published in the London Gazette and a local newspaper to enable objectors to the confirmation to lodge objections, which will in due course receive" full attention from the Board of Trade.